【Reading】ゆどおし

【English Name】Blanching

Yu-doshi (blanching) is a cooking technique in which ingredients are briefly passed through boiling water, or hot water is poured over the ingredient. It is counted among the indispensable preparatory treatments in the sushi-preparation process as well.

The main purposes include heating only the surface of the ingredient, removing scum (aku), and reconstituting dried goods. When this treatment is applied to meat or seafood, the proteins near the surface denature with heat and harden white. Because this appearance resembles frost, it is also widely known by the alternative name "shimofuri".

At sushi shops, blanching is frequently valued as a preparatory treatment for shellfish and crustaceans. For example, scallops and shrimp can have excess sliminess and odor removed by blanching, drawing out the ingredient's inherent sweetness and texture. In the preparation of octopus as well, blanching is a commonly adopted technique.

Incidentally, Chinese cuisine has a similar cooking method called "abura-doshi," which uses oil. Because blanching uses only water and heat, it is easy to keep calories down, and it can be said to be a cooking method especially widely used in the world of Japanese cuisine and sushi.